


All the king's horses

by msraven



Series: Not afraid to hope [2]
Category: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint Barton is William Brandt, Fix-It, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-12
Updated: 2012-09-12
Packaged: 2017-11-14 02:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msraven/pseuds/msraven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Agent Hunt, are you in love with my husband?</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the king's horses

Contrary to what most people thought, Ethan Hunt was not a glutton for punishment. Yes, he had a dangerous job that often resulted in ridiculously death-defying situations, but he never sought out ways to cause himself pain. So with pain avoidance in mind, Ethan had vowed never to see Clint Barton (formerly William Brandt) ever again. At least not for a very long time and definitely not until after every last sliver of this stupid infatuation was ruthlessly destroyed. 

But as with most things in his life, fate (a.k.a. the IMF - it was same thing, really) conspired against him.

Ethan had never thought much about the IMF analysts or the intel they provided for missions - even after he'd met Will and seen the amount of skill and effort he put into his work. Never considered that Brandt had become Chief Analyst for a reason. Didn't take the time to realize Will spent all his time between missions attempting to recover, hire, and train the IMF's team of analysts into some semblance of what they were before Moscow.

Ghost Protocol had a much greater impact on IMF than Ethan could have imagined. The field agents were mostly unaffected. IMF agents had a peculiar skillset and, more importantly, mindset that didn't lend itself well to absorption into other agencies. Most agents had rightfully assumed Ghost Protocol wouldn't stick and taken the opportunity for some overdue vacation time. The analyst team, however, was decimated before they'd hit the ground in Mumbai. 

William Brandt had built quite a reputation for himself in the short time he'd been Chief Analyst. There was a mad scramble by other agencies after Ghost Protocol to scoop up the remains of Brandt's former team and the often under-appreciated analysts suddenly found themselves being courted, cajoled, and bribed. You couldn't really blame them for jumping ship (especially when the ship didn't technically exist at the time). With Will choosing to stay in the field and then leaving altogether, it was really no surprise that pre-mission analyst reports now looked like they were researched no further than Google.

Which lead to Ethan's current personal dilemma. They'd been on one mission since Brandt had left IMF and Jane was now recovering from a gunshot wound due to flawed intel and analysis. The file Ethan currently had in his hand looked no better. Benji and Jane had taken one look at their copies, looked at each other, and then shoved them back across the table. The _not until you've fixed this_ didn't need to be verbalized.

Now Ethan was staring at the Stark phone Barton had given him and trying to figure out if he had any other options. He really didn't, but it took another ten minutes to convince himself to place the call.

"H'lo?" came the sleep-softened answer and Ethan was too charmed by it to respond right away. It gave the other man enough time to check the caller ID. "Ethan, is that you?"

Ethan mentally kicked himself. 

"The IMFT analysts are idiots," he said finally and earned himself a bark of laughter on the other end of the call.

"I told you not to underestimate the power of us pencil pushers," came the amused response. "I take it that Adams hasn't had much luck luring back the old team?"

"I honestly don't know, but what we're getting isn't worth reading, let alone using. We can't afford another screw up."

"Who got hurt?" Barton immediately asked. Ethan had forgotten how quickly he could read between the lines.

"Jane. Nothing serious."

"Damn it. Hang on a minute." Ethan could hear the sound of sheets rustling and Barton's half of a muffled conversation. "Phil. Can you wake up for a sec? … I know, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you later. Ethan's on the phone. He needs my help. … Analysis ... Do you think we can? … I didn't want to assume. … You will? … Okay, yeah, yeah. I love you, too. … Where? … Alright … Oh, that's probably a good idea. I'll tell him. … Ethan, you still there?"

"Here," Ethan croaked and tried valiantly not to let jealousy rear its head.

"I'm in. Phil's going to clear it with Fury. Interdepartmental cooperation and all that jazz. How soon can you get to New York?"

"Um…" Ethan did some quick calculations. "I'd say a little over six hours."

"Okay. We'll meet you in front of Avengers Tower in seven. Probably best for you to come by yourself for now. And bring my old laptop if you still have it." 

"Done. Seven hours," Ethan responded. It was easier to think of him as Barton when he was rattling off instructions like orders. 

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief that it was also clearly Clint Barton who stepped forward to greet him as he stepped out of a cab seven hours later. The combat boots, gray cargo pants, tight black t-shirt, and wraparound sunglasses did not fit his mental image of William Brandt. Neither did the cocky swagger and rough, one-armed hug he got instead of a professional handshake.

Ethan continued to tell himself that it was easier this way even as he was re-introduced to Agent Coulson and had to watch the easy affection between the couple. It was easier not to see the man he knew underneath the Avenger standing in front of him with his arm around his husband. After all, he told himself, you can't covet something that doesn't exist, right?

By later that evening, Ethan had deluded himself into false sense of calm. He could work with this. He was over William Brandt and, even if he wasn't, it didn't matter because it wasn't like anyone _knew_. This delusion left Ethan completely unprepared for when Agent Coulson approached him with a polite question.

"Agent Hunt, are you in love with my husband?"

"No!" Ethan choked out automatically. He couldn't stop his eyes from flicking over to the man sitting across the room, looking much more like the former IMF agent, as he hunched over a laptop. 

"No," Coulson agreed. "But you are in love with William Brandt."

"It's not - we never - he doesn't -" Ethan shut his mouth with a snap. He knew better than to talk when he had absolutely nothing to say.

"It's alright, Agent Hunt. I apologize. I was just satisfying my own curiosity."

Ethan's brow furrowed. "You mean, you're not…"

"Not what?" Coulson asked. "Warning you off? Letting you know that I could make you disappear so fast and so thoroughly that your own mother wouldn't remember you ever existed?"

The words were said in an amused, almost teasing manner, but Ethan had no doubt Agent Coulson could easily follow through with his disappearance.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Agent Hunt."

"Why not?" Ethan blurted out and then winced at his lack of self preservation. Coulson didn't look ruffled by the blunt question and tilted his head slightly as he considered his answer. 

"Three reasons, if you have to know. First," Coulson said levelly as if he were giving a debrief. "I am one hundred percent confident in my husband and my marriage. The two of us have been through more than our fair share of strife. We've been to hell and back, Mr. Hunt. And yet, here we are - relatively whole and still together. So I don't mean to be insulting, but you pose no threat compared to what we've already lived through."

Hunt had no response to that. The man had died and his husband had remained faithful for years until his miraculous return. Ethan was no competition. 

"Second, Clint trusts you. I hope you understand that he doesn't do that easily. He considers you a friend and that's a rare thing. _He_ trusts you, so _I'm_ going to trust you not to betray that."

And there it was. The threat coolly delivered with a passive face and hard, unyielding eyes. Hunt blinked and nodded - message received and acknowledged. 

"Third…" Coulson glanced across the room and allowed his mouth soften into a small smile before he turned looked back at Ethan. "I am familiar with how it feels to try and fall out of love with Clint Barton."

His smile widened a bit at Ethan's startled expression. "I did say we've had a rough road," Coulson reminded with a shrug. "I may not have known William Brandt, but I know Clint. So I know that he, in any form, is not someone who is easily forgotten. I won't begrudge you the time you need. If it helps, you should know that I consider myself a very lucky man and I will always cherish his love like the gift it is."

Ethan nodded as he read the sincerity in Coulson's eyes. He was surprised to realize that it did help, knowing that Brandt (he'd always be Brandt in Ethan's heart) was truly cared for. It was Seattle all over again. He'd needed to see Julia happy and safe before he could move on. But this time was different, better, because he wasn't losing Brandt completely. Ethan would get Barton as a friend in exchange and it was, he could see now, enough.

The man in question walked up and leaned against his husband's side, their arms instinctively wrapping around each. Ethan could see how seamlessly they fit together and found it more endearing now, than painful. 

"The original location and time for the mission is good," Barton reported. "Need to change your objective though. You have two targets - one's a simple take out, but the other will need to be a grab and replace."

Ethan shook his head. "No good. I'm short bodies. Jane's not going to be 100% and Luther's already on assignment. Even if I could have you back, it would still be tough."

Hunt watched a silent conversation play out between the other men - a tilt of Barton's head and a mischievous grin, a small shake of his head and an eye roll from Coulson, a shrug from the still grinning Barton, and then a small downward tilt of Coulson's chin. Clint's grin widened, so Ethan had to assume they'd agreed on a course of action.

"We'll give you three-for-one deal," Barton said with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. "You can have both of us _and_ Natasha."

**Author's Note:**

> I hadn't intended on writing a follow up to my other fic, but I couldn't get the conversation between Coulson and Ethan out of my head.


End file.
